Greater Bangalore: Towards greater disappointment?

Greater Bangalore: Towards greater disappointment?
New Indian Express

There’s so much talk going on about Greater Bangalore. The State Government says the merger will boost a balanced development and cut short bureaucratic delays in sanctioning projects. Quite the contrary, many experts point a finger at what seems to be an endless litany of woes.

If some rue it’s against the principles of decentralisation, environmentalists are racking their brains over the imminent depletion of groundwater and green cover, and of course, waste disposal problems that may turn out to be a gargantuan task.

Greater Bangalore — it’s an idea that’s been riveting for over a decade. Settling slowly, the concept is in the final stage of implementation. It is the merging of seven City Municipal Councils (CMC), one town municipal council (TMC), and over 100 villages within Bangalore metropolitan area coming under the BMP limits.

This will increase the area to 696 sqkm with a population of 80 lakhs. The seven CMCs are Bommanahalli, Byatarayanapura, Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, Mahadevapura, R R Nagar, K R Puram, and Kengeri TMC. The project will bring different urban bodies and the whole of Bangalore under a single elected body.

We thought of doing a recce and check whether the youth in the City were aware of the major change going on around them. Though many of them didn’t know about it in detail, they were keen on sharing their opinion.

Says Jayanth, a student of YDIT, Kanakpura Road, “The concept is good, though it has a lot of practical aspects to ponder over.” He says that it will reduce traffic problems and change the infrastructure management for the better.

Nikita, an MBA student from MATS School of Business and IT, has a different take on it. “The project has its advantages as well as disadvantages. There will be a balanced development of the area, but when it comes to its implementation, the usual bottlenecks and corruption will rule the stage.”

The upshot of it all, according to most of them, is an upswing of corrupt practices the the project may lead to. Harsha, an HP employee, says, “With this project, Bangalore will be divided. And as everybody knows, corruption will soar to new heights.” He heaved a sigh of relief though, hoping that real estate prices would plummet a bit.

Fahd, a fashion technology student, says that the project depends on how it is implemented by the government. “As far as I think, the City will be governed by an administrator, free from political interventions, which is good for us.”

Ultimately all want to resort to the wait and see policy. “Though the government has not specified any time limit regarding its implementation we have to wait and see what the final outcome will be,” says Saranya, a first PUC student from Surana college. “But the sad part is that it may lead to environmental hazards if not implemented properly,” she adds.

Sujatha another student is all confused about this new idea. “I think the project confuses all. The project may improve Bangalore to an extent but we have to wait and see as it takes only a minute for them to dig up in the name of road works.”